Pier Paolo Maggiora

Pier Paolo Maggiora, is an Italian architect.

He was born in 1943 in Saluzzo. In Turin he got the Master of Arts degree with Carlo Mollino. Apprenticeship in the ateliers of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Carlo Scarpa, Oscar Niemeyer and Kenzo Tange. In 1967 Pier Paolo Maggiora opens his own practice in Turin and few later he founds The Studio ArchA. In the following years, during the post-industrial and environmental/infrastructure crisis, he develops some project proposals which involve, starting from architecture, environmental, land and urban aspects, which lead to his theory of “architectural territory”. That is an idea of territory that is thought of in his organic and wider efficiency - cultural, social, economic, functional and aesthetic – as an attractive pole that spread of dynamic and creative energy.

In the 1980s he laid down the foundations of his theory for a "Dialogue in Architecture", for the promotion of creative projects between architects and, at the same time, to restore the charm of the unitarian diversity, which has created layers over the centuries in the historic city.

His professional activity is based on this general concept of Architecture and its role in civil society, and is expressed in a big number of projects and works, where the theory is embodied in structures, masses, surfaces, facilities.

In the convergence of stimulus and information from different disciplines (ecology, anthropology, urban planning, engineering, sociology, economics, management and finance) is defined, through his whole work, the architectural synthesis where philosophical principles are called to interwine in forms and functions offered to the social fruition.

The following are some of the latest projects:

• The Caofeidian EcoCity”, the first town of the Third Millennium, Tanghshan, China;
• the Third City of Jinhua, part of the “100 Cities Project”, which the architect, Mr Pier Paolo Maggiora, has designed as Italy’s contribution to the Chinese programme to move hundreds of millions of country people into the city, China;
• “100 City Project”, Method proposal about a definition of New Urban System in the China urbanization program, in the cooperation between Italy and China Governments;
• The "Green Lagoon", the new central metropolitan area in Settimo Torinese, Turin, Italy;
• The New Tower of the Milan exhibition area Fiera di Milano in Rho, Italy;
• The “New Arcade” , financial district in Verona, Italy;
• CityLife: the “new center” of Milan, in the historical exhibition area (with Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind), Italy;
• Susa 2 complex (2004), that completes the Sitaf headquarter system which was realized beginning 1990 in Susa, Turin, Italy;
• The "Tower 18" in Brescia, Italy;
• The Turin Health Park in Turin, Italy;
• The Central Olympic Compound For the Turin 2006 Olympic Games (with Arata Isozaki), Italy;
• The “Parque Urbano” Headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"In the first place, there is a factor that unifies Pier Paolo Maggiora’s architecture and outlines its cultural essence, even before its style. In fact, it is not only universally acknowledged as urban architecture that fits in perfectly with the social and visual context it is meant for, but also – and especially – as metropolitan architecture. This means it is intended to redesign the context that hosts it, so as to relaunch it into a wider perspective of new functions and new images. From this point of view, Maggiora’s work fits into a leading-edge trend of contemporary design culture, which sees architecture as a social service that is capable of participating in a project for collective existence. In all of the Turinese architect’s main works, the urban territory is immediately configured as the grounds for an organized and planned development thanks to the presence of an architectural artefact. Indeed, in its perfect functional efficiency, the latter sets itself as an attraction that radiates dynamic and creative potential."

Maurizio Vitta. Pier Paolo Maggiora. CAYAC, X Biennale di Architettura di Buenos Aires. L’Arca Edizioni, Milano 2005